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RPG-7
|is_ranged=yes |service=1961–present |used_by= Various |wars= |designer= |design_date= |manufacturer= Bazalt, Defense Industries Organization, Airtronic USA |unit_cost= |production_date= June, 1961-present |number= 9,000,000+ |variants= RPG-7V2 (current model) RPG-7D3 (paratrooper) Type 69 RPG (China) RPG-7USA (Picatinny Rails) B-41 (Vietnam), (Cambodia) |spec_label= |weight= |length= |part_length= |width= |height= |cartridge= |caliber=85mm |action= |rate= |velocity= 115 m/s |range= 200m |max_range= ~ 920 m (1,000 yd) (self detonates) |feed= |sights= PGO-7 (2.7x) and UP-7V Telescopic sight) Red Dot on Picatinny Rails }} The RPG-7 (РПГ-7) is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 (Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт - Ruchnoy Protivotankovyy Granatomyot, Hand-held anti-''tank grenade launcher'') and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union and are now manufactured by the Bazalt company. The weapon has the GRAU index 6G3. The English-language term "RPG", meaning "rocket-propelled grenade", though frequently encountered and reasonably descriptive, is not based on a literal translation. The ruggedness, simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness of the RPG-7 has made it the most widely used anti-tank weapon in the world. Currently around 40 countries use the weapon, and it is manufactured in a number of variants by nine countries. It is also popular with irregular and guerrilla forces. The RPG has been used in almost all conflicts across all continents since the mid-1960s from the Vietnam War to the present day War in Afghanistan. The most commonly seen major variations are the RPG-7D paratrooper model (able to be broken into two parts for easier carrying), and the lighter Chinese Type 69 RPG. DIO of Iran manufactures RPG-7s with olive green handguards, H&K pistol grips, and a Commando variant. The RPG-7 was first delivered to the Soviet Army in 1961 and deployed at a squad level. It replaced the RPG-2, having clearly out-performed the intermediate RPG-4 design during testing. The current model produced by Russia is the RPG-7V2, capable of firing standard and dual high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds, high explosive/fragmentation, and thermobaric warheads (see below), with a UP-7V sighting device fitted (used in tandem with the standard 2.7x PGO-7 optical sight) to allow the use of extended range ammunition. The RPG-7D3 is the equivalent paratrooper model. Both the RPG-7V2 and RPG-7D3 were adopted by the Russian Ground Forces in 2001. Description The launcher is reloadable and based around a simple steel tube, 40 millimeters in diameter, 95.3 centimeters long, and weighing 7 kilograms. The middle of the tube is wood wrapped to protect the user from heat and the end is flared to assist in blast shielding and recoil reduction. Sighting is usually optical with a back-up iron sight, and passive infra-red and night sights are also available. As with similar weapons, the grenade protrudes from the launch tubes. It is 40-105 millimeters in diameter and weighs between 2.5 and 4.5 kilograms. It is launched by a gunpowder booster charge, giving it an initial speed of 115 meters per second, and creating a cloud of light grey-blue smoke. The rocket motorno rocket motors in OG-7V ignites after 10 meters and sustains flight out to 500 meters at a maximum velocity of 295 meters per second. The grenade is stabilized by two sets of fins that deploy in-flight: one large set on the stabilizer pipe to maintain direction and a smaller front set to induce rotation. The grenade can fly up to 1,100 meters; the fuze sets the maximum range, usually 920 meters. Propulsion system According to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Bulletin 3u (1977) Soviet RPG-7 Antitank Grenade Launcher—Capabilities and Countermeasures, the RPG-7 munition has 2 sections: a "booster" section and a "warhead and sustainer motor" section. These must be assembled into the ready-to-use grenade. The booster consists of a "small strip powder charge" that serves to propel the grenade out of the launcher, the sustainer motor ignites and propels the grenade for the next few seconds, reaching a speed of 294 meters per second. The TRADOC bulletin provides anecdotal commentary that the RPG-7 has been fired from within buildings, which agrees with the two-stage design. It is stated that only a 2-meter standoff to a rear obstruction is needed for use inside rooms or fortifications. The fins not only provide drag stabilization, but are designed to impart a slow rotation to the grenade. Due to the configuration of the RPG-7 sustainer/warhead section, it responds counter-intuitively to crosswinds. A crosswind will tend to exert pressure on the stabilizing fins, causing the projectile to turn into the wind. While the rocket motor is still burning, this will cause the flight path to curve into the wind. The TRADOC bulletin explains aiming difficulties for more distant moving targets in crosswinds at some length. Ammunition The RPG-7 can fire a variety of warheads for anti-armor (HEAT, PG-Protivotankovaya Granata) or anti-personnel (HE, OG-Oskolochnaya Granata) purposes, usually fitting with an impact (PIBD) and a 4.5 second fuze. Armor penetration is warhead dependent and ranges from 30 to 60 centimeters of RHA; one warhead, the PG-7VR, is a 'tandem charge' device, used to defeat reactive armor with a single shot. Current production ammunition for the RPG-7V2 consists of four types: * PG-7VL c.1977 Improved 93 mm HEAT warhead effective against most vehicles and fortified targets. Replaces the earlier 83mm PG-7V HEAT warhead c.1961. * PG-7VR c.1988 Dual 64mm/105mm HEAT warhead for defeating modern armored vehicles equipped with reactive armor blocks. The first warhead (64mm HEAT) detonates the reactive armor block prematurely and the second warhead (105mm HEAT) passes through the gap to hit the exposed armor underneath. * TBG-7V c.1988 105 mm Thermobaric warhead for anti-personnel and urban warfare. * OG-7V c.1999 40mm fragmentation warhead for anti-personnel warfare (warhead is within caliber due to limitations of international treaties) Specifications Manufacturer specifications for the RPG-7V1. Hit probabilities A US Army evaluation of the weapon gave the hit probabilities on a 5 meter wide (15 ft), 2.5 meter tall (7.5 ft) panel moving sideways at 4 meters per second (9 miles per hour). This probability decreases when firing into crosswind due to the unusual behavior of the round; in a -per-hour wind, the gunner can not expect to get a first-round hit more than 50% of the time beyond 180m. History of use Accurate firing is difficult at ranges over 300 meters and with the RPG-7 the phrase "the closer the better" has always been true. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the mujahideen tended to use the weapon at ranges of less than 80 meters. They were used in the Vietnam war to counter the introduction of the lightly armored M113. This was countered by the mounting of barbed wire bundles or placing sections of chain link fence supported by 2 or 3 "U" shaped engineer stakes in front of the vehicle as a portable stand-off. Coalition armored vehicles in Iraq have been fitted with "birdcage" slat armor to protect against RPGs. References External links * http://www.bazalt.ru/ manufacturer site *Countering the RPG threat *RPG a Weapon's Profile - Defense Update *How Stuff Works - RPG(7) *RPG-7 analysis and user´s manual *Modern Firearms: RPG-7 *Ultimate Weapons Rpg 7 Military Channel on Youtube Category:Anti-tank rockets Category:Communist forces weapons Category:Rocket-propelled grenade launchers Category:Weapons of the Vietnam War